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Abstract : |
A laser surface modification technique can be used as a part of a dublex treatment process to improve the surface properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The present study is conducted to investigate the surface properties of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy due to laser melting prior to a plasma nitriding process. Consequently, nitriding is carried out to obtain the depth of the nitride zone of 30 mu m. A CO2 laser with 1.6 kW output power was used to melt the nitride layers. The wear properties of the plasma nitrided and nitrided/melted surfaces were investigated using pin-on-disc equipment while the friction coefficient was determined using a ball-on-disc machine. The nitride depth profile was measured using a nuclear analysis reaction and elemental distribution in the melted zones was investigated using mu-PIXE. Scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy were carried out to analyze the microstructures developed before and after the laser melting process. In addition, heating and cooling rates were predicted through the electron-kinetic theory approach. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A., |
